The ultimate negative keywords list: 8 categories to stop wasting ad spend

Look, we all love seeing traffic spikes in our Google Ads account. But let's be honest, most of that traffic is probably garbage. It's people looking for jobs, free stuff, or your competitors. Every click from a non-buyer is just you lighting money on fire. As a European entrepreneur scaling a tech company, I've learned that obsession with efficiency is the only way to win. You can't outspend everyone, but you can out-think them.

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The single most powerful, high-leverage thing you can do to improve your ad performance isn't some fancy new bidding strategy or a clever ad copy hack. It’s building a killer negative keywords list. It’s the digital equivalent of putting a bouncer at the door of your club—only the right people get in. This isn’t just about saving money; it’s about focusing your budget on people who will actually become customers. It’s about respecting your sales team's time by not flooding them with junk leads. To truly stop burning cash on dumb clicks, integrating a robust negative keywords list is a fundamental part of overall Google Ads best practices.

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This guide is your bouncer. We’re skipping the generic advice and diving straight into the specific, categorized lists that have the biggest impact on campaign profitability. You'll get actionable lists you can copy and paste, plus the strategy behind why they work.

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Below are the 8 categories of negative keywords that I've seen make the biggest impact across countless campaigns. No fluff, just actionable lists you can implement today to stop the bleeding and start scaling intelligently.

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1. Competitor brand keywords

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One of the fastest ways to burn through your ad budget is to pay for clicks from people who are explicitly looking for your competition. It's a common mistake, but it's also incredibly easy to fix. Adding competitor brand names to your negative keywords list ensures you only spend money on users who are genuinely searching for a solution like yours, not for a specific rival.

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This isn’t about hiding from the competition; it's about strategic spending. If someone types Salesforce login into Google, they are not your customer. They are a Salesforce customer. Showing them an ad for your CRM is a complete waste of money and a surefire way to get a low-quality click with zero chance of conversion. By blocking these terms, you protect your budget for high-intent, non-branded searches where you can actually win.

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How to implement it

The application is straightforward but requires precision. You don't want to accidentally block relevant, long-tail searches. Start by creating a dedicated negative keywords list in your Google Ads account specifically for competitors. Then, add the brand names of your direct rivals. For example, if you run a project management tool, you'd add terms like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com.

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The key is choosing the right match type. Use exact match for core brand names to prevent your ad from showing on that precise query. This stops you from over-blocking. For example, a negative keyword [salesforce] will block searches for "salesforce" but not for "crm like salesforce," which might actually be a valuable query. For broader terms that include a competitor's name, use phrase match. This gives you more control than a broad match negative would.

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This tactic is foundational for any serious PPC campaign. It’s one of the first things we do when structuring a new account because it immediately improves budget efficiency and focuses spend where it matters most.

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2. Low-intent awareness keywords

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Not all traffic is created equal. Spending your ad budget on users who are just starting their research is like trying to sell a steak to someone who just realized they're hungry and is still deciding what type of food they even want. It's a waste of time and money. Adding low-intent awareness keywords to your negative keywords list is how you filter out the window shoppers and focus on the real buyers.

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This is about aligning your spend with genuine purchase intent. Someone searching what is a CRM is in education mode, not buying mode. Showing them a product ad is premature and will only lead to a high bounce rate and a drained budget. By blocking these informational queries, you reserve your ad spend for high-intent searches like "CRM pricing" or "best CRM for small business," where users are actively evaluating solutions. This precision targeting is exactly what makes tools like dynares so effective, as they connect high-intent clicks directly to conversion-optimized landing pages.

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How to implement it

Implementing this requires a good understanding of your customer's journey and search behavior. It's less about blocking specific words and more about blocking types of queries. First, dive into your Search Terms report in Google Ads. Look for patterns in queries that generate clicks but no conversions. You'll likely see informational modifiers that indicate early-stage research. These are your prime candidates for a negative keywords list focused on awareness terms.

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Use phrase match to block common informational search patterns. For example, if you're a B2B SaaS company, you'd add negatives like how to, what is, tutorial, and guide. A financial advisor would block "what is investing" but keep "investment account for business" active. This approach ensures you're excluding entire categories of low-intent searches without accidentally blocking valuable long-tail keywords. For a deeper dive into this, it's crucial to understand the different layers of user intent. You can learn more about search intent to refine this strategy further.

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This doesn't mean you ignore awareness-stage users entirely. The smart play is to create separate, low-bid campaigns (like a Display or YouTube campaign) with content-focused assets to nurture them. But for your core conversion campaigns, ruthlessly filtering out these terms is a non-negotiable step for maximizing your return on ad spend.

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3. Geographic & location exclusions

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If you serve a specific geographic area, spending money on clicks from outside that zone is just setting your budget on fire. It's a shockingly common oversight, especially for local service businesses. Adding location-based negative keywords is the simplest, most direct way to ensure your ads are only seen by people you can actually serve.

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This isn't just for local plumbers or electricians; it applies to any business with geographic boundaries. A national delivery service that doesn't ship to Alaska or Hawaii needs to block those states. A UK-based SaaS with no US support shouldn't be paying for clicks from someone searching "SaaS for small business in Texas." You're not just saving money; you're protecting your ad performance metrics from irrelevant impressions and clicks that will never, ever convert.

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How to implement it

Your primary defense here is Google Ads campaign-level geo-targeting, but that system isn’t perfect. Users can manually add location modifiers to their searches, overriding your settings. A robust negative keywords list is your essential backup to catch these valuable but unqualified queries.

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Start by listing all the major cities, states, provinces, or countries you don't serve. If you’re a Denver-based plumber, your list should include terms like Chicago, Colorado Springs, and Phoenix. The more specific you are, the better. This is especially critical if you are using dynares, as it prevents the system from generating landing pages for areas outside your delivery zone, saving resources and focusing your strategy.

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The match type you choose is crucial for precision.

• Use phrase match for location names to block any search containing that city or state.
• Use exact match for more targeted exclusions. For example, [plumber near me] could be a negative in a national campaign to ensure that search intent is only captured by hyper-local, geo-fenced campaigns where it’s actually relevant.

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Think of it as building a digital fence around your service area. This tactic works hand-in-hand with your primary location settings, creating a nearly foolproof system to eliminate geographic waste and maximize your return on ad spend.

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4. Price-point misalignment keywords

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Every click costs money, so paying for traffic from people who can't afford your product is like setting your ad budget on fire. It’s a subtle but costly mistake. If you’re selling a premium, high-value product, you must block searchers who are explicitly looking for a bargain-basement solution. Adding price-point misalignment terms to your negative keywords list is essential for focusing your spend on leads who can actually become customers.

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This isn't about being elitist; it's about being efficient. A user searching for a "free CRM" or "cheapest project management tool" has already told you what they value most: the lowest possible price. Showing them an ad for your enterprise-grade, high-ticket platform is a guaranteed way to get a bounce, not a lead. It wastes their time and your money. By filtering out these bottom-of-the-barrel searches, you ensure your ads are only seen by users who are evaluating solutions based on value, features, and ROI, not just the price tag.

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How to implement it

Applying this strategy is about understanding your market position and being decisive. You need to draw a clear line between your target audience and those who will never convert due to budget constraints.

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Start by building a negative keywords list dedicated to price and budget terms. If you offer a premium SaaS product, you'd immediately add words like free, cheap, discount, and affordable. The goal is to weed out searchers whose primary buying criteria is cost. For an executive coaching service, this might include terms like "affordable life coach" or "cheap business coaching."

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Match types are critical here. Use phrase match for most budget terms to maintain control. Adding "free" will block searches like "free CRM software" but won't interfere with a potentially valuable query like "CRM with free trial." Similarly, "cheap" is a great phrase match negative to block low-intent searches. For very specific price caps, like a user searching for a "$50/month CRM," you can add "$50/month" as a phrase match negative to exclude that precise budget expectation.

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This tactic directly improves the quality of your inbound traffic. It ensures that the people who click your ads have a budget that aligns with your pricing, which is a foundational step in creating leads that actually close. It’s a simple filter that radically improves lead quality and ROAS.

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5. Non-commercial & recreational keywords

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Not all traffic is good traffic, especially if you’re selling a B2B product. A huge amount of your ad budget can evaporate on clicks from students, hobbyists, or DIY enthusiasts who use your commercial keywords but have zero intention of buying your enterprise-level solution. Adding non-commercial and recreational terms to your negative keywords list is essential for filtering out this low-intent noise.

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This isn’t about being elitist; it's about being ruthlessly efficient. If you sell commercial real estate analytics software, a search for "real estate investing for dummies" is a dead end. That user is looking for an ebook or a YouTube video, not a six-figure software contract. By blocking these queries, you ensure your ads and, if you're using dynares, your dynamic landing pages, are only served to users with genuine commercial intent.

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How to implement it

The goal is to surgically remove audiences who are learning or exploring for fun, not for business. This requires a bit of creative thinking about how a non-professional might search for your solution. Start by brainstorming modifiers that signal non-commercial intent. For a B2B accounting software company, this means blocking terms that indicate personal or hobbyist use. Think about terms like hobby, personal finance, DIY, tutorial, and for fun. This is a crucial layer for any serious negative keywords list.

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Match types are key here. Use phrase match for modifiers to block any search containing that specific non-commercial phrase. For instance, adding "learn for fun" as a negative will block "learn Python for fun" and "learn accounting for fun," protecting you from a wide range of irrelevant searches. You can also add broader terms like hobby and free to catch more general queries.

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Regularly check your search terms report for new patterns. Look for queries that include words like project, dummies, course, or example. These are strong indicators of an educational or hobbyist searcher, not a qualified business lead. Adding these to your list continuously refines your targeting and maximizes your return on ad spend.

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6. Employment & career-seeking keywords

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It’s shocking how much money is wasted on job seekers clicking on your product ads. If you’re a well-known B2B or SaaS brand, a significant chunk of your search traffic will come from people looking for a job at your company, not from people looking to buy your software. Adding employment-related terms to your negative keywords list is a simple, high-impact fix that stops this budget leak immediately.

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This isn't just a minor issue; it's a constant drain on performance. When someone searches for "Salesforce careers," their intent is crystal clear, and it has absolutely nothing to do with becoming a customer. Showing them a product ad is a guaranteed way to pay for a click that will never, ever convert. By blocking these queries, you ensure your ad spend is reserved for users with commercial intent, protecting your ROAS and lead quality.

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How to implement it

The goal here is to filter out career-related intent without accidentally blocking potential customers. This requires a smart use of match types and a clear separation between your marketing and HR campaigns.

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First, create a dedicated negative keyword list for employment terms. Populate it with obvious search modifiers that signal a job hunt. Think words like careers, jobs, hiring, salary, interview, and resume. A B2B service firm, for example, would want to block searches like "consultant jobs" or "accountant hiring" from their product campaigns.

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For these general career terms, broad match is your best friend. Adding careers as a broad match negative will effectively block any search query containing that word. This is a clean and efficient way to handle the bulk of these irrelevant searches. It's a foundational move for any large B2B advertiser, popularized by giants like HubSpot and Salesforce who have documented this strategy.

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For company-specific job searches, get more precise. Use exact match for queries that combine your brand name with a job term, like [YourCompanyName jobs] or [YourCompanyName careers]. This prevents you from showing up for your own job postings while still allowing for broader, relevant brand searches. It’s a basic but critical step to segmenting your campaign traffic effectively.

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7. Product/feature mismatch keywords

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Nothing wastes money faster than clicks from people who seem perfect but are actually looking for something you don't offer. These are the worst kind of unqualified leads because they look highly qualified on the surface. Adding product and feature mismatch terms to your negative keywords list is essential to stop paying for traffic that can never convert.

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This is about brutal honesty with your product's limitations. If your SaaS is cloud-only, anyone searching for a "self-hosted" or "on-premise" solution is a dead end. Showing them an ad is not only a waste of your budget but also creates a poor user experience, which can negatively impact your campaign's performance over time. These mismatches lead to high bounce rates and low conversion rates, signals that can damage your account's health. Blocking these terms protects your spend for users whose needs align perfectly with what you actually provide.

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How to implement it

This requires a deep understanding of your product and your customers' needs. You can’t just guess; you need to be systematic.

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Start by creating a master negative keywords list specifically for unsupported features. Review your product documentation, support tickets, and even lost sales notes to find out why people choose not to buy. If you run a premium B2B platform, you might add terms like for small business or for nonprofits if your pricing or compliance isn't a good fit for them.

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The right match type is crucial for precision. Use phrase match for feature-specific terms to block irrelevant searches without being too restrictive. For instance, if your platform has limited integrations, adding "API access" or "webhook integration" will stop you from showing up for developers looking for deep customisation. Similarly, a cloud-only tool should add "offline mode" and "on-premise."

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Regularly updating this list is key. As your product evolves, so will the mismatches. A quarterly review of customer feedback and feature requests will reveal new terms to add. This proactive approach ensures your ad spend remains efficient and your landing pages aren't attracting visitors who will inevitably be disappointed. Focusing on a great user experience is one of the things Google actually cares about when it comes to campaign quality.

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8. Audience demographic & intent mismatch keywords

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Pouring ad spend into clicks from the wrong audience is like trying to sell enterprise software to a college student. It's a fundamental mismatch. Adding demographic and intent mismatch keywords to your negative keywords list is about more than just saving money; it's about qualifying your traffic before you even pay for the click, ensuring your ad spend is laser-focused on genuine prospects.

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This tactic is about surgically removing irrelevant searchers from your funnel. If you sell B2B project management software for construction firms, a search for "personal project tracking app" is completely useless to you. Similarly, if your executive coaching is for C-suite leaders, searches like "career change coaching" or "job search help" attract an audience you simply don't serve. By blocking these terms, you stop paying for curiosity and start investing in conversions from the right people.

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How to implement it

Success here starts with a crystal-clear understanding of your ideal customer persona (ICP). You can't filter out the wrong people if you haven't defined the right ones. Once your ICP is solid, you can build a powerful defensive keyword strategy.

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Begin by listing modifiers that define your non-target audience. For a B2B SaaS company, this means blocking consumer-intent words. Add terms like personal, home use, and individual as broad match negatives. For an enterprise-focused company targeting CFOs, you would add negatives like freelancers, small business, and startup to filter out non-decision-makers or companies that are too small.

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Use phrase match for more specific intent mismatches. For an agency platform focused on direct end-users, you'd want to block searches for partnerships you don't offer. Adding "resell" and "white label" as negative keywords prevents you from attracting resellers instead of clients.

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This is a continuous process of refinement. Regularly review your CRM data to see which leads never close and identify the search terms that brought them in. Adding these to your negative keyword list is a key tactic to improve your Google Ads performance. This ensures your ad budget isn't just spent efficiently but is actively working to attract only your most valuable potential customers.

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Negative keywords: 8-category comparison

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Item🔄 Implementation Complexity⚡ Resource Requirements📊 Expected OutcomesIdeal Use Cases⭐ Key Advantages / 💡 TipsCompetitor Brand KeywordsLow — exact-match negatives; periodic updatesLow — small maintenance, quick addsReduces wasted spend; improves CTR & Quality ScoreProtect brand messaging; dynares users needing brand clarity⭐ Conserves budget and protects landing-page relevance. 💡 Use exact matches; review quarterly.Low-Intent Awareness KeywordsMedium — requires intent analysis to avoid over-blockingMedium — ongoing search-terms review; possible separate campaignsHigher conversion rate and lower CPL; risks excluding future prospectsConversion-focused campaigns where top-funnel traffic is unwanted⭐ Filters non-buyers to boost ROAS. 💡 Use Search Terms report; separate awareness campaigns.Geographic & Location ExclusionsLow–Medium — map service areas and exclude cities/regionsLow–Medium — update with service changes; pair with geo settingsEliminates out-of-area clicks; increases local relevanceLocal or region-restricted services; dynares regional landing control⭐ Saves spend and reduces irrelevant page generation. 💡 Use city/state negatives + geo bid adjustments.Price-Point Misalignment KeywordsMedium — needs clear pricing strategy and nuanceMedium — monthly reviews to catch new price modifiersRaises average deal value and ROAS; may exclude some convertible usersPremium products or services where price-fit is critical⭐ Filters budget-seeking traffic to protect margin. 💡 Exclude “free/cheap”; test removals quarterly.Non-Commercial & Recreational KeywordsMedium — industry-specific identification requiredLow–Medium — monitor search terms for hobby/educational patternsImproves lead quality for B2B; reduces non-commercial page volumeB2B offerings where hobbyists/students are irrelevant⭐ Protects commercial budgets and conversion relevance. 💡 Block “hobby/DIY/learn for fun” variations.Employment & Career-Seeking KeywordsLow — standard job-related terms are easy to listLow — periodic scans for evolving job termsRemoves applicant traffic; improves conversion metricsB2B/SaaS product campaigns where job searches are irrelevant⭐ Eliminates recruiter/applicant clicks. 💡 Separate recruitment and product campaigns; use exact company-job negatives.Product/Feature Mismatch KeywordsHigh — requires deep product knowledge and tier awarenessHigh — maintain master lists, review support/feature requestsEliminates high-intent false positives; large quality gainsComplex or tiered products where features vary by plan⭐ Prevents costly unconvertible leads and wasted dynares pages. 💡 Maintain shared master negative list by product tier.Audience Demographic & Intent Mismatch KeywordsHigh — needs defined buyer personas and intent mappingMedium–High — CRM/sales data reviews and segmentationTargets decision-makers; improves close rates and reduces wrong-contact leadsEnterprise B2B where buying committee and role matter⭐ Ensures ads/landing pages reach actual buyers. 💡 Use CRM data to add non-closing lead keywords as negatives.

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Now go build your fortress

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So, there you have it. We've walked through the digital trenches, dissecting the different types of negative keywords that are silently siphoning your ad budget. From blocking bargain hunters searching for "free" to steering clear of career seekers looking for "jobs," the principle is the same: pre-emptive defense. Every euro you spend on a click that has zero chance of converting is a euro you could have invested in a click that actually matters. Thinking you can skip this step and just focus on bidding or ad copy is like trying to build a skyscraper on a swamp. It's just not going to work.

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The lists and categories we've covered are not just theoretical suggestions; they are the battle-tested blueprints for building a fortress around your ad spend. A well-curated negative keywords list is the single most powerful, and frankly, underrated, lever you can pull to instantly improve campaign performance. It's not about finding more traffic. It’s about attracting the right traffic. This is the fundamental shift in mindset that separates amateur advertisers from professional marketers who consistently deliver impressive ROAS. You’re not paying for clicks; you're investing in potential customers.

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Your immediate action plan

Let's make this practical. Don't just close this tab and let these ideas evaporate. Your competitors are hoping you will. Instead, block out 90 minutes on your calendar right now and get to work.

• Audit First: Dive into your Search Terms Report for the last 30-60 days. Don't skim. Go line by line and hunt for the budget-wasters. Look for the themes we discussed: informational intent (how to, what is), geographic mismatches, and price shoppers. This is your custom-built starting point.
• Implement Broadly: Take the universal lists—like the ones for job seekers or non-commercial queries—and add them as account-level negative keyword lists. This is your first wall of defense, protecting every campaign you run, new or old. There's no reason to do this campaign by campaign; it's just inefficient.
• Refine Granularly: For campaign-specific negatives, be surgical. Apply the price-point and product-mismatch negatives at the ad group or campaign level where they are most relevant. A "cheap" negative keyword might be great for your premium product line but detrimental to your entry-level offers. Context is everything here.

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The ongoing discipline of optimization

Building your initial negative keywords list is a huge step, but the real magic happens over time. This is not a "set it and forget it" task. It's a living, breathing part of your campaign management hygiene. The market shifts, new search trends emerge, and people will always find baffling new ways to phrase their queries. Your job is to stay vigilant.

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Your negative keyword list is a direct reflection of how well you understand your customer. A long, specific list means you know exactly who you don't want, which paradoxically helps you find more of who you do want.

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Think of it as tending a garden. You have to pull the weeds (irrelevant search terms) regularly so your flowers (high-intent customers) have room to grow. A weekly check-in on your Search Terms Report is non-negotiable. It’s the work that doesn’t get the glory but absolutely wins the game. This disciplined approach transforms your ad account from a leaky bucket into a high-performance engine, where every component, from your ads to your landing pages, works more effectively because it's being fueled by qualified traffic. So go on, start building. Your fortress awaits. 🏰

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If you're managing complex campaigns and find the weekly grind of manually updating your negative keywords list tedious, dynares can help. Our platform automates the creation of high-intent ads and landing pages from your product feed, but it also helps you focus your budget by ensuring your targeting is razor-sharp from the start. Spend less time pulling weeds and more time scaling what works with dynares.